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Interactive Map of Facilities Receiving Non-Hazardous Secondary Material
Highlights
Maps are Available for Combustion Units in the Related CAA Proposed Rules:
- Map of Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration (CISWI) Units under CAA 129
- Map of Major Source Boilers under CAA 112
On This Page
Under the Identification of Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials (NHSM) proposed rule combustion units that use non-hazardous secondary materials considered to be solid waste would be regulated under Clean Air Act (CAA) 129 as an incinerator.
The map identifies facilities that may receive diverted non-hazardous secondary materials considered to be solid wastes under NHSM. Diversion, mostly for disposal, would occur due to the combustion units currently using the materials as fuel or ingredients deciding to no longer use the material because they would be subject to the Clean Air Act (CAA) incinerator standards.
The diversion of secondary materials will increase the amount of non-hazardous secondary materials being sent for disposal or other uses. This map shows the demographics around the non-hazardous US waste sites for each facility (at a 3 mile radius).Facilities that currently burn secondary materials considered to be solid waste under the proposed NHSM rule may continue to do so following the implementation of the rule (and comply with the CAA section 129 requirements) or divert the material to disposal or beneficial use. According to EPA's assessment of affected units using the least cost method*, disposal is the most likely prospect for diverted secondary materials, but some specific secondary materials are more likely to be processed into a legitimate non-waste fuel or ingredient, or recycled for non-fuel applications. The diversion of secondary materials away from combustion units will show benefits (i.e., improved air quality), but will not necessarily alleviate all the potential environmental justice concerns.
May Receive Diverted Secondary
Material Due to Waste Types Accepted
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At this time, if you wish to see multiple layer overlays, you must view the dataset (KMZ) in Google Earth |
Note:
- The facilities shown that are expected to receive diverted material is based on the type of waste category accepted at each site (if the secondary materials could be considered to be included). For example, some construction and demolition debris (C&D) has been used as fuel, but not all C&D. In addition, not all those facilities would receive diverted materials if they are not close to where the secondary materials are generated.
- The incinerators (for municipal solid waste) mapped on this page are regulated under CAA 129 separate from the CISWI incinerators also under CAA 129 (which are in a concurrent proposed rule to the NHSM proposed rule).
- Some waste sites on the map may have closed and others may have opened since 2008.
*Under the least cost approach, the regulated entity is assumed to operate in an economically rational manner by managing the secondary material in the least costly method possible based on legal requirements.
Summary of the Demographic Data
The summary table describes the total population living within one and three miles of at least one facility, for each facility type listed below. Most of the minority and poverty levels are close to the national average (minority 31% and poverty 13%), but nearly all are higher than the national average.
| Facility Type | Buffer Zone | Population | Minorities1 | Below Poverty Line2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landfills | 1 mile | 4,743,061 | 30% | 15% |
| 3 miles | 31,610,889 | 33% | 14% | |
| C&D landfills | 1 mile | 2,086,966 | 38% | 17% |
| 3 miles | 15,496,949 | 38% | 15% | |
| Composting | 1 mile | 1,422,449 | 43% | 15% |
| 3 miles | 9,582,552 | 39% | 13% | |
| Incinerators (municipal waste) |
1 mile | 125,411 | 52% | 23% |
| 3 miles | 977,329 | 39% | 16% | |
| Materials Recovery Facilities3 | 1 mile | 10,040,993 | 53% | 19% |
| 3 miles | 61,207,342 | 46% | 16% | |
| Transfer stations4 | 1 mile | 11,636,040 | 47% | 18% |
| 3 miles | 65,314,862 | 42% | 15% | |
| Waste-to-Energy Plants | 1 mile | 546,793 | 42% | 17% |
| 3 miles | 5,584,477 | 44% | 17% |
Refer to the Methodology and Sources information for a more detailed description of minority calculations and sources.
- Minority calculations include race factors and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
- The threshold for the poverty line was $21,065 in the 2000 Census
- About one-third of these facilities (430) have combined operations with transfer stations.
- This does not include the 430 transfer stations that have combined operations with materials recovery facilities.
The demographic data are given for each facility in the map and in the summary table. The data for the one and three mile buffer zones around the facility were developed using areal apportionment at the block-group level with population data from 2000 U.S. Census Bureau. This method uses the percentage of the block group’s land area that falls within the zone to estimate the percentage of the block group’s population that lives within that zone. For these demographic calculations, minorities are considered to be any racial minorities (including Black or African Americans, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asians, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, and those of two-or more races) and any individuals identifying as Hispanic or Latino in ethnicity that were not already counted in the racial minorities. The poverty status includes those below the poverty line according to the 2000 U.S. Censes results. Population numbers and percentages reflect individuals for whom minority/poverty status were available. The facilities that were assessed are identified in the Waste Business Journal’s Directory and Atlas of Non-Hazardous Waste Sites 2008 
.
Limitations of Demographic Analysis
- Locational Uncertainty: The accuracy of the waste facility locations (over 8,000) were not individually verified to be within the fence line using aerial imagery due to time and cost constraints.
- Exposure Change Uncertainty: Although minority and low-income populations near the facilities represented are above the national average, this does not necessarily indicate that the proposed rules will result in adverse environmental justice impacts. EPA has not decided the level of minority or poverty populations that would indicate an environmental justice community.
- Causality or Temporal Effects: This analysis does not attempt to ascertain the direction of causality or temporal effects that may impact potential exposures. We do not attempt to assess whether the facility preceded certain populations or to assess factors that may affect facility or community siting (e.g., property values, jobs, transportation infrastructure).
- Geographic Overlap: People are not double-counted if they live within three miles of two facilities of the same type (e.g., 2 transfer stations), although people may be counted in multiple facility categories if they live within three miles of different types of waste sites.
- 2000 Census Data: Our analysis is based on U.S. Census data for the year 2000, though populations may have migrated since that time.